A novel is a quest,
a short story is a breeze.
A poem is a guest
you never want to leave.
A novel has a plot;
it may even have many.
A short story does not -
it has just one, if any.
A poem, now, will wander
from here to there at will.
A poem will not squander
words as stuffing or as frills.
So a poem can stay
right here with me,
day after day,
as a guest, for free.
- Roy Beckemeyer
a short story is a breeze.
A poem is a guest
you never want to leave.
A novel has a plot;
it may even have many.
A short story does not -
it has just one, if any.
A poem, now, will wander
from here to there at will.
A poem will not squander
words as stuffing or as frills.
So a poem can stay
right here with me,
day after day,
as a guest, for free.
- Roy Beckemeyer